Seekers of Adoulin Arrives March 28th

[Fusionx]

http://gamerescape.com/2012/12/25/seekers-of-adoulin-to-expand-final-fantasy-xi-on-march-28th/


Website Gamenyarth is listing Seekers of Adoulin, the fifth expansion for FINAL FANTASY XI as being made available at retail on March 27th in Japan. The service for the expansion will then go live the following day.

In Japan, the expansion will be available for PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PC, whereas other parts of the world will be unable to obtain the expansion on the PS2 hardware.

The expansion features the entirely new continent of Ulbuka, the new city of Adoulin as well as the Rune Fencer and Geomancer jobs amongst other new content.

[Eric]

I'm kind of surprised the date isn't something like December 31, 2013.

[Antanias]

Given recent updates, I'm keeping my expectations very low.

[Ryanx]

If some JP site says i am not going to hold my breath for that relese untill SE actuly says it

[Sotek]

I'm kind of surprised the date isn't something like December 31, 2013.

If this date is legitimate, all it means is that in three months people will be racing to be the first players in Adoulin, to do the only three, generic, story cutscenes, to unlock GEO/RNF, cap them and leave them to collect dust while SE makes them worthwhile jobs and then return to the mainlands to continue doing all the current content. All by Mar 30th.

Unless this expansion is going to be different (and I see no reason for it to be), there isn't really much reason to buy it until Dec 31st. Prove me wrong SE, prove me wrong.

[Teraniku]

Until the Official website or PlayOnline posts the release date, I'll take it with a grain of salt.

*If this is the case, we should be getting a new trailer soon, showing the new jobs in action like ToAU's 2nd trailer did.*

[joker_balade]

that around the same time with ARR
interesting

[Vivik]

Adoulin gets hit by a meteor and sends everyone to ARR on March 31st.

[Fusionx]

that around the same time with ARR
interesting

FFXIVARR is looking like a June/July release now

[joker_balade]

yea just find that earlier
more time to play XI then

[Prrsha]

A new monster it seems:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/attachment.php?attachmentid=5454&d=1356529249&thumb=1

(posted from the Japanese Forums)

It seems to be related to that giant tree we have seen from data map mining.

It does show an interesting look how the art from the art department comes to life on their PCs. On the left the concept drawings and printouts and on the right the finished product.

[Spiritreaver]

A new monster it seems:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/attachment.php?attachmentid=5454&d=1356529249&thumb=1

(posted from the Japanese Forums)

It seems to be related to that giant tree we have seen from data map mining.

It does show an interesting look how the art from the art department comes to life on their PCs. On the left the concept drawings and printouts and on the right the finished product.

http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/219558.jpg

And here is a link (http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=29967) to the whole write-up that Elmer the Pointy posted on Alla back in June.

[joker_balade]

looks cute
bet it deadly

[Prrsha]

looks cute
bet it deadly

All things cute in FFXI or Japan are deadly. It's a rule.

[Trumpy]

I swear i seen that thing on Pokemon somewhere!

[Eric]

A new trailer has been released and the confirmed date is now March 26, 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzePg-ws-qU

[Trumpy]

ok that gold thing at the end looks kinda familiar. anyone recognize it?

[MiriOhki]

The site says that the PC version will be a digital download only. Anyone heard whether the 360 version will be downloadable as well or disc only? Kinda hoping the former, because I have a bunch of MS points coming in the mail and would be nice to just save some for that instead of having to buy two copies of the expansion.

[Eric]

More likely than not, the Xbox 360 version will be disc-only.

[Sotek]

That $29.99 price tag has me.... Intrigued....

Hopefully they start releasing more information now (not just teaser text on the main site please), it's going to take a lot to undo basically every expansion release in XIs history to justify that price tag.

Hopefully this plays out like WotG done properly. Most of the zones should have been there from launch along with Walk of Echoes. Lock the beastmen strongholds and both northenland zones, after we control the zone leading to the strongholds we can access them (which would at best take a week given Campaigns mechanics, more since we'd be completely ignorant of them), after we control all the strongholds we can enter Beaucedine Glacier, after we control that, Xarcabard and thus Walk of Echoes, which was the perfect launch event since they could (and did) add to it for several updates. Then they could keep updating Campaign with new mechanics/mobs/Ops, introduce ANNM/Pixie weapons/SCNMs and so on.

SoA needs to do something like that imo, the fact that you need to clear the land of boulders/roots/etc to access areas would work incredibly well with such a concept. Story missions just need to copy CoPs framework, I seem to remember them saying at the vanafest that they know what went wrong with WotG in that regard, so I'm a bit more hopeful there. Jobs, well... Hopefully they demo them on the test server soon rather than posting some worthless teaser text and a trailer akin to Cait Siths, I expect SCH level worthlessness from them for now.

Cynicism aside, I see the words "Big Bridge" on that site...
shutupandtakemymoney.jpg

[Spiritreaver]

That $29.99 price tag has me.... Intrigued....

Hopefully they start releasing more information now (not just teaser text on the main site please), it's going to take a lot to undo basically every expansion release in XIs history to justify that price tag.

Hopefully this plays out like WotG done properly. Most of the zones should have been there from launch along with Walk of Echoes. Lock the beastmen strongholds and both northenland zones, after we control the zone leading to the strongholds we can access them (which would at best take a week given Campaigns mechanics, more since we'd be completely ignorant of them), after we control all the strongholds we can enter Beaucedine Glacier, after we control that, Xarcabard and thus Walk of Echoes, which was the perfect launch event since they could (and did) add to it for several updates. Then they could keep updating Campaign with new mechanics/mobs/Ops, introduce ANNM/Pixie weapons/SCNMs and so on.

SoA needs to do something like that imo, the fact that you need to clear the land of boulders/roots/etc to access areas would work incredibly well with such a concept. Story missions just need to copy CoPs framework, I seem to remember them saying at the vanafest that they know what went wrong with WotG in that regard, so I'm a bit more hopeful there. Jobs, well... Hopefully they demo them on the test server soon rather than posting some worthless teaser text and a trailer akin to Cait Siths, I expect SCH level worthlessness from them for now.

Cynicism aside, I see the words "Big Bridge" on that site...
shutupandtakemymoney.jpg

Just wondering, why would SE need to justify a $29.99 price tag? I mean its the same price i've paid for every other expansion(RotZ not withstanding as it came with the base game at NA PS2 release), not to forget its about the same combined price for both sets of add-ons(the storyline add-ons and the Abyssea add-ons).

So aside from age of the game, has something changed that would make ~30 bucks too high a price?

[Teraniku]

Just wondering, why would SE need to justify a $29.99 price tag? I mean its the same price i've paid for every other expansion(RotZ not withstanding as it came with the base game at NA PS2 release), not to forget its about the same combined price for both sets of add-ons(the storyline add-ons and the Abyssea add-ons).

So aside from age of the game, has something changed that would make ~30 bucks too high a price?

My thing is this, While the PC expansion itself, is Digital Download, Will the Seekers Edition Complete game be on Disc?

[Demon6324236]

Just wondering, why would SE need to justify a $29.99 price tag?The game and all expansions for it are only $10, its stupid for a game+10 expansions/addons to cost 1 3rd of the price as a brand new expansion, which is likely to be small by comparison.
My thing is this, While the PC expansion itself, is Digital Download, Will the Seekers Edition Complete game be on Disc?From what I read, its $30 for the Expansion, 40 for the entire game+expansion.

[Sotek]

Just wondering, why would SE need to justify a $29.99 price tag? I mean its the same price i've paid for every other expansion(RotZ not withstanding as it came with the base game at NA PS2 release), not to forget its about the same combined price for both sets of add-ons(the storyline add-ons and the Abyssea add-ons).

So aside from age of the game, has something changed that would make ~30 bucks too high a price?

Maybe my memory is just fuzzy but I remember ToAU/WotG being closer to $20. That aside, after WotG I just do not have confidence in their expansion releases - even before this update I did not feel the expansion would be worth whatever cost they put on it if they did indeed just repeat WotG. Cost actually has little to do with it I think, if it ends up anything like WotG I doubt I'd get it if it was free, not for a few months at least.

Their last expansion is something that is almost not even worth reinstalling, it's hard to look forward from that with any confidence.

[Infidi]

I paid 60 USD for WotG expansion for 360 when it first came out. XD.

[Spiritreaver]

Maybe my memory is just fuzzy but I remember ToAU/WotG being closer to $20. That aside, after WotG I just do not have confidence in their expansion releases - even before this update I did not feel the expansion would be worth whatever cost they put on it if they did indeed just repeat WotG. Cost actually has little to do with it I think, if it ends up anything like WotG I doubt I'd get it if it was free, not for a few months at least.

Their last expansion is something that is almost not even worth reinstalling, it's hard to look forward from that with any confidence.

Oh i agree about how WotG was implemented. Came out in '07 and SE never actually finished it until like 2010-ish. Took way too long and the way it was artificially dragged out was really a strain to following the story, for me at least.

As to the pricing, and this is at the other fella too, buying them new as they came out was of course more expensive than buying a bundle years later. However i have all the actual disks for PS2 and PC(yeah i'm one of those guys that had instances of the game all over my home), and i remember griping about having to shell out $30 a pop times 2 every time an expansion hit.

So thinking about it now, i guess i can see where ppl used to having bundles to buy might balk at paying $30 for a single expansion this time around.

[Trumpy]

yes i recall paying 30-40 for expansions. the collections didnt really hit much til after at least the first addons were made like acp. if you got the game and all the current expansions for 10 dollars you prolly got it when it was on sale as i think it usually runs 19 dollars standard.

I think lately alot of things they have developed have required various expansions. even things that werent necessarily wotg content required that expansion. like meebles i think does. vw now requires aht urgan and zilart and cop to finish it all. so giving the collection is good to make sure everyone has access to it anyway. plus surely they will add a cool item that only this new collection buyers can get even tho alot of us older players (who cant get said cool item) have gotten all the same expansions and paid more than they did.

I think everquest has like 20ish expansions and a few years back i had bought a collection for like 15 dollars that had every expansion and the main game. i like this technique over WoW's technique of taking forever to drop the price of their game and addons.

I just hope we can pre purchase this expansion (i think a couple abyssea addons let u buy them early) so all we have to worry bout is downloading (i think they usually have a pre release update of somesort for expansions) on the day it goes live.

[joker_balade]

it cost 30 bucks?
whew

[Fusionx]

So NA only gets PC on digital download? What happened to SE repeatedly going "this is a boxed expansion!" Where the heck is our BOX?

Meanwhile, Japan gets a boxed Vana'diel Collection with bonuses that have yet to be announced for players outside of Japan...can't say I'm surprised. Insert speech about how Japan always gets the cool stuff here.

http://store.jp.square-enix.com/detail/SE-G0044?mmcd=official_ff11_vc4

[Spiritreaver]

So NA only gets PC on digital download? What happened to SE repeatedly going "this is a boxed expansion!" Where the heck is our BOX?

Meanwhile, Japan gets a boxed Vana'diel Collection with bonuses that have yet to be announced for players outside of Japan...can't say I'm surprised. Insert speech about how Japan always gets the cool stuff here.

http://store.jp.square-enix.com/detail/SE-G0044?mmcd=official_ff11_vc4

As long as digital downloads of the Vana'diel Collection get access to any ingame special items, i couldn't care less about a box.

[Vandheer]

Quoted text bellow is from this link ~> http://gamerescape.com/2012/12/25/seekers-of-adoulin-to-expand-final-fantasy-xi-on-march-28th/


In Japan, the expansion will be available for PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PC, whereas other parts of the world will be unable to obtain the expansion on the PS2 hardware.

Japan not only gets the nifty boxes and perhaps limited edition content but they also get a PS2 release of the game. If your willing to go out of the way to release a PS2 version in Japan share the love with everyone else SE. I realize that the PS2 versions of FFXI are more popular in Japan then anywhere else but it bums me out that the expansion my be just that far out of reach for PS2 gamers that don't know Japanese.

Being aware the odds of that happening are highly unlikely, anyone know if it would be possible to purchase a Japanese version of the expansion and have the text continue to come out in english? Or will it be more whenever I'm in Adoulin area's that everything from npcs is in Japanese? :x

[Economizer]

I'd also like to raise support for a boxed PC version, reinstalling isn't fun as is. But I have another issue I think I have to raise as well, since I also noticed that there are two version for each, the expansion version for $30 and the Collection version for $40.

SE, as someone who is pretty much tech support for people who I play with whenever something goes wrong, do me a solid favor and make me a promise.

Promise me that the disk in the Expansion version is the same as the disk in the Collectors Edition version for the Xbox 360 version of the game.

I want to be able to tell players on the Xbox that if they have the Seekers Collection disk, they have all expansions available to install, even if they still need to buy the actual access. I want to be able to tell Xbox players in three years, when the disks have evaporated from existence and are very hard to find that they can just get a Seekers Collection disk from an expansion pack rather then hunt down two or three different disks that end up costing them well over the cost of an Xbox because of their stubborn desire to play on a console. I want to be able to get Xbox players with scratched disks another option to reinstall.

Promise the players that the disk for Seekers of Aldouin will have all the disk based expansions available to install, regardless of if it is the Collection or Expansion edition of the game!

[Glamdring]

I be believing it when I be seeing it. until it's actually released the release date is "__/__/__"

[Alhanelem]

If your willing to go out of the way to release a PS2 version in Japan share the love with everyone else SE. It's because I'd guess 90% of original model PS2s that still work are in japan.

[Prrsha]

I'd also like to raise support for a boxed PC version, reinstalling isn't fun as is. But I have another issue I think I have to raise as well, since I also noticed that there are two version for each, the expansion version for $30 and the Collection version for $40.

SE, as someone who is pretty much tech support for people who I play with whenever something goes wrong, do me a solid favor and make me a promise.

Promise me that the disk in the Expansion version is the same as the disk in the Collectors Edition version for the Xbox 360 version of the game.

I want to be able to tell players on the Xbox that if they have the Seekers Collection disk, they have all expansions available to install, even if they still need to buy the actual access. I want to be able to tell Xbox players in three years, when the disks have evaporated from existence and are very hard to find that they can just get a Seekers Collection disk from an expansion pack rather then hunt down two or three different disks that end up costing them well over the cost of an Xbox because of their stubborn desire to play on a console. I want to be able to get Xbox players with scratched disks another option to reinstall.

Promise the players that the disk for Seekers of Aldouin will have all the disk based expansions available to install, regardless of if it is the Collection or Expansion edition of the game!

A large problem is that Microsoft doesn't include a HDD in their new slim models. Then they pass off a generic 360GB HDD for $100, if you want to update it after the fact. Currently hard drives of those kinds for the PC are dirt cheap (which are exactly the same as Microsoft's... except Microsoft's HDD has a partition on it that "allows you" to install it on a Xbox). It is the same exact same hardware for an inflated price.

This reminds me of the PS2 original vs. slim (that didn't come with a HDD) problem of old.

You are asking SE to shell out alot of dollars to cater to people who have xboxes without a HDD. It is not unreasonable to ask that of them, if they can make a profit in return. If they can't you are asking them to just burn their own money. The question is. Is there a large enough market out there of people who have xboxes without a HDD?

I know it sucks to have to redownload and install a game over again from scratch, but PC users have been doing that for years via steam now and it seems to be the way of the future now (sadly).

Off topic: I have been reading on the Japanese forums that SE has released a teaser disk to the public there. Is there any chance of seeing one appear overseas?

[Economizer]

You are asking SE to shell out alot of dollars to cater to people who have xboxes without a HDD. It is not unreasonable to ask that of them, if they can make a profit in return. If they can't you are asking them to just burn their own money. The question is. Is there a large enough market out there of people who have xboxes without a HDD?

I think you have no clue what I'm talking about whatsoever.

Perhaps it is my fault for not being clear enough, so I'll attempt to clarify.

The Xbox version will be physical disk only, as far as the information we have from the official Seekers website. The digital download option is for PC only as far as we know.

The Xbox version can only run from an HDD. I am not making any attempts to argue against this behavior, because I have a brain and understand the difference between read speeds of optical media and a hard drive. Furthermore I don't live in some lala land where I think SE could afford to restream any new assets they make, nor do I want FFXI to never update.

The Xbox version will come in two different editions, one that costs $30 and is just the expansion, and one that is $40 and has all expansions. The Ultimate Collection disk for the Xbox (which is incredibly hard to find), was just one DVD, and if we compare the PC version's Abyssea Ultimate Collection DVD's size, we'll note it is roughly a mere 4.3 GB, and assuming similar sizes for the Xbox version, this means there is plenty of extra room on disk for the rest of the content, since Xbox 360 disks have roughly almost 8 GB of space available.

Now if I had to guess, the Seekers Ultimate Collection will have just one disk for the Xbox 360. What I'm asking from SE is that they guarantee us that the disk is the same between the $10 cheaper expansion edition, so that players who want to play on an Xbox but say, bought an expansion pack for the PC, they don't need to worry about if they got the wrong disk.

Basically what I want is to know when an Xbox player tells me they have Seekers installed that they have the other expansions, and I don't have to tell them they're SoL and need to find a disk SE doesn't make anymore to play the other expansions. And it should cost SE the same - actually it should cost them less to make only one kind of disk even - to make this promise.

Additionally, I'm asking this because it makes my life harder trying to troubleshoot problems people have, so if it helps my tech support of fellow players, odds are it will be helping lower costs for SE's tech support as well.

What I'm asking shouldn't cost a dime unless Seekers somehow has double the amount of content FFXI currently has compressed, and should even save SE money while still allowing them to have the two SKU pricing scheme. Honestly, I'd wish they'd just sell one SKU for the Xbox altogether because I still think there will be some confusion, but I'll be fine with the disk being the same between the two products.

[Alhanelem]

I know it sucks to have to redownload and install a game over again from scratch, but PC users have been doing that for years via steam now and it seems to be the way of the future now (sadly).Modern internet connections have so much bandwidth that this is hardly an issue. Digital distribution is reigning because it's convenient. Beyond that only a handful of PC games have ever sold well at retail in recent years. A lot of game stores wanted nothing to do with anything that wasn't a Blizzard title.

You still can't really resell a FFXI disc because its tied to an account, whereas that's not (as much of) an issue for console games usually. Resalability is the only true advantage to boxed games. This "redownloading to reinstall" you speak of in Steam can be avoided by using Steam's backup feature.

Other than the sense of getting something physical with your purchase, box vs digital aren't much different, so people are going with the more convenient option.

[Prrsha]

Modern internet connections have so much bandwidth that this is hardly an issue. Digital distribution is reigning because it's convenient. Beyond that only a handful of PC games have ever sold well at retail in recent years. A lot of game stores wanted nothing to do with anything that wasn't a Blizzard title.

You still can't really resell a FFXI disc because its tied to an account, whereas that's not (as much of) an issue for console games usually. Resalability is the only true advantage to boxed games. This "redownloading to reinstall" you speak of in Steam can be avoided by using Steam's backup feature.

Other than the sense of getting something physical with your purchase, box vs digital aren't much different, so people are going with the more convenient option.

When I said sadly, I meant the era where when you purchased a game you got a nice fat manual and neat box. :3 Manuals used to be an art form where elements from the game were combined with a storyline and a tutorial. Games like this that come to mind are, Homeworld, Fallout, Strike Commander, etc. I miss getting those when buying a game now in stores (which is rare like you said). All you get now is a thin box and a single piece of paper with a CD. It's hardly worth discounted price of a download now. (Don't get me started about EA's Digital River download policy of long ago. Origin still clings to its DRM policy last I checked.).

[FrankReynolds]

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/adoulin/index.html


Software to be Released on March 26th, 2013
Servers to be Launched on March 27th, 2013 (Time TBA)

[Prrsha]

I think you have no clue what I'm talking about whatsoever.

Perhaps it is my fault for not being clear enough, so I'll attempt to clarify.

The Xbox version will be physical disk only, as far as the information we have from the official Seekers website. The digital download option is for PC only as far as we know.

The Xbox version can only run from an HDD. I am not making any attempts to argue against this behavior, because I have a brain and understand the difference between read speeds of optical media and a hard drive. Furthermore I don't live in some lala land where I think SE could afford to restream any new assets they make, nor do I want FFXI to never update.

The Xbox version will come in two different editions, one that costs $30 and is just the expansion, and one that is $40 and has all expansions. The Ultimate Collection disk for the Xbox (which is incredibly hard to find), was just one DVD, and if we compare the PC version's Abyssea Ultimate Collection DVD's size, we'll note it is roughly a mere 4.3 GB, and assuming similar sizes for the Xbox version, this means there is plenty of extra room on disk for the rest of the content, since Xbox 360 disks have roughly almost 8 GB of space available.

Now if I had to guess, the Seekers Ultimate Collection will have just one disk for the Xbox 360. What I'm asking from SE is that they guarantee us that the disk is the same between the $10 cheaper expansion edition, so that players who want to play on an Xbox but say, bought an expansion pack for the PC, they don't need to worry about if they got the wrong disk.

Basically what I want is to know when an Xbox player tells me they have Seekers installed that they have the other expansions, and I don't have to tell them they're SoL and need to find a disk SE doesn't make anymore to play the other expansions. And it should cost SE the same - actually it should cost them less to make only one kind of disk even - to make this promise.

Additionally, I'm asking this because it makes my life harder trying to troubleshoot problems people have, so if it helps my tech support of fellow players, odds are it will be helping lower costs for SE's tech support as well.

What I'm asking shouldn't cost a dime unless Seekers somehow has double the amount of content FFXI currently has compressed, and should even save SE money while still allowing them to have the two SKU pricing scheme. Honestly, I'd wish they'd just sell one SKU for the Xbox altogether because I still think there will be some confusion, but I'll be fine with the disk being the same between the two products.

I thought the Xbox version would available as well through the marketplace. It would make the most sense (money wise) for SE to do it that way anyways. They wouldn't have to worry about product distribution or shortages (like with ToAU and a certain hurricane). SE decided to do so with the PC now and stopped releasing games via CD. They could avoid the entire problem and just release the entire game as a download (since you need the xbox HDD anyways). Meh, they could sell the expansion for a reduced price and the entire game wholesale if they wished.

What SE wants to sell are not CDs, but accounts, as they pay more money in the long run. It would be in their best interest to have it available to all xbox users in this fashion. The only roadblock I see with this is Microsoft itself.

I appologize and misunderstood what you were trying to get across. I thought you were asking for an entire game on a CD that all xbox users (even ones with the HDDless slim) could use, which would be physically impossible because the game content needs to be updated constantly.

[Alhanelem]

When I said sadly, I meant the era where when you purchased a game you got a nice fat manual and neat box. :3 Manuals used to be an art form where elements from the game were combined with a storyline and a tutorial.I kind of agree with you but this goes really unappriciated by the masses for the most part.

[Chanch]

that around the same time with ARR
interesting

What makes you say ARR is coming so soon?

[Sotek]

ARR beta starts mid-February and lasts for ~18 weeks. I've no idea how long after beta the launch will be, but that puts ARRs release at around June. Can't blame anyone for thinking ARR is right around the corner though, last time the alpha/beta was so short, now that the alpha is over I'm surprised people expect it to be released in March and not tomorrow.

[Twille]

If this expansion is anything like WoTG or ToAU, they won't actually finish the content for another 2-3 years, in which case it's kind of hard to be excited.

[Alhanelem]

What makes you say ARR is coming so soon?
beta starts om april and will last 2.5~6 months depending on how things go.

[Chanch]

beta starts om april and will last 2.5~6 months depending on how things go.

That is not soon.

[Teraniku]

Quoted From the main FFXI website from the SoA Proto-Waypoint entry from Zurko-Bazurko



"Returning to the topic of controlling these machines, it was only—what, a little over a decade ago—when an erudite woman visited Adoulin, bringing with her details of magical, runic warping technologies."


Who's the most knowledgeable magician in Vana'diel and a woman? I'm betting it's Shantotto.

[Alhanelem]

err correction. I meant to say mid feburary lol. To their fastest estimates, FFXIV will launch around the same time the new expansion launches. By their slower estimates, it would launch in late june.

[Lokithor]

When I said sadly, I meant the era where when you purchased a game you got a nice fat manual and neat box. :3 Manuals used to be an art form where elements from the game were combined with a storyline and a tutorial.
Seems to me like the same story as the transition from vinyl to CD. Gone were the great, large format cover art and liner notes. Technology advances art in some directions and short changes us in others.

[FrankReynolds]

Seems to me like the same story as the transition from vinyl to CD. Gone were the great, large format cover art and liner notes. Technology advances art in some directions and short changes us in others.

Psshhh... I buy everything on Vinyl and then download a copy from Zune and convert to MP3 via DRM removal software. Best of both worlds :)

[Vandheer]

It's because I'd guess 90% of original model PS2s that still work are in japan.

I was well aware of this when I posted the first comment of mine. Guy can dream though. Any ideas of if getting the japanese version of the game on the PS2 would work? x]

[Chanch]

Do I need to have all expansions to play the new one? I bought complete collection off steam but it's missing stuff like WoTG. Anyone know?

[Rihannon]

So why are we not getting the PS2 version of this?!? I wont get it even though I play on a PC because I won't be able to play with my husband who uses a PS2. I can't begin to describe how upset I am!!!


Quoted text bellow is from this link ~> http://gamerescape.com/2012/12/25/seekers-of-adoulin-to-expand-final-fantasy-xi-on-march-28th/



Japan not only gets the nifty boxes and perhaps limited edition content but they also get a PS2 release of the game. If your willing to go out of the way to release a PS2 version in Japan share the love with everyone else SE. I realize that the PS2 versions of FFXI are more popular in Japan then anywhere else but it bums me out that the expansion my be just that far out of reach for PS2 gamers that don't know Japanese.

Being aware the odds of that happening are highly unlikely, anyone know if it would be possible to purchase a Japanese version of the expansion and have the text continue to come out in english? Or will it be more whenever I'm in Adoulin area's that everything from npcs is in Japanese? :x

[Rihannon]

Very upset that I won't be able to play in the new areas with my irl husband because he uses a PS2. Guess it isn't worth getting!

[Alhanelem]

So why are we not getting the PS2 version of this?!? I wont get it even though I play on a PC because I won't be able to play with my husband who uses a PS2. I can't begin to describe how upset I am!!!
Because, as I said, there aren't enough working fat PS2s in the rest of the world to make selling it worthwhile or even profitable at all.

Ask anyone what platform they play on. If they speak english nearly all of them will say PC or xbox. What we should be asking is "Why are they still releasing it in Japan on the ps2 instead of just dropping the platform entirely?"

A bleeping tablet PC could run the game better than your PS2. Get with the times and get a cheap PC.

[Vandheer]

I facepalm as I see this thread go completely off road in turning into a PS2 rage thread. Alhanelem, I believe your comment is out of line and would like to apologize to everyone in advance for possibly taking this thread more off topic with my reply to Alanelem.


Because, as I said, there aren't enough working fat PS2s in the rest of the world to make selling it worthwhile or even profitable at all.

In agreement with you Alha there are very very very few working PS2's in the states. Majority of the PS2 gamers play though their PS3 with the PS2 HD installed. This is likely the case in Japan as-well.


Ask anyone what platform they play on. If they speak english nearly all of them will say PC or xbox.

Yes the majority of players on FFXI do play through either xbox or a PC but there are still those who play FFXI through a PS2 version of the game. These players will continue to be felt inconvenienced and left out.


What we should be asking is "Why are they still releasing it in Japan on the ps2 instead of just dropping the platform entirely?"

There is no reason to ask why they are releasing it in Japan on the PS2, you yourself already answered that twice. The real question would be why aren't they releasing the game for the PS3? Majority of the PS2 users play through the PS3 and likely wouldn't mind switching to play on PS3 indeed. This switch would also invite new gamers that prefer gaming on a console instead of a PC. However i believe the answer is SE "tried" Sony said "no".


A bleeping tablet PC could run the game better than your PS2. Get with the times and get a cheap PC.

From the sounds of it Rihannon is "with the times" as she does have a PC that she and her husband use for FFXI. They just can't play this expansion together because they don't have 2 PCs. What console people play on shouldn't matter to you or others. Rihannon and myself both playing on a PS2 version of FFXI are only stating we feel inconvenienced by the expansion not being available to us as you and others would if it wasn't available for PC or xbox.

How I see it, what were saying and the fact we play on a PS2 version does not affect you in any way nor should it enable opportunity to say "get with the times" or to go out and buy a "bleeping tablet PC".

Now that thats out of the way I feel your pain Rihannon. I also do hope that SE does make this expansion worthwhile and that they make Runefencer and Geomancer strong job options for both main and subjobs. ^^

[Alhanelem]

These players will continue to be felt inconvenienced and left out. That's fine with me, these people should let go of their old relic and pick up a modern platform to play on.

[Eric]

Yes the majority of players on FFXI do play through either xbox or a PC but there are still those who play FFXI through a PS2 version of the game. These players will continue to be felt inconvenienced and left out.

All 10 of them will just have to deal with it.

[Vandheer]

That's fine with me, these people should let go of their old relic and pick up a modern platform to play on.

I believe I did cover that when I spoke of the PS3? Correct me if I'm wrong.


All 10 of them will just have to deal with it.

Perhaps this will sadly be the case. However what bothers me more is apparently this minority won't be able to voice their opinion without our piers attempting to stomp on us in saying were "out of date". Scroll up the page, its ridiculous.

[Zirael]

Do I need to have all expansions to play the new one? I bought complete collection off steam but it's missing stuff like WoTG. Anyone know?
If you bought complete collection, chances are, you need to register expansion pack serial on SE account management website, or something.

[Alhanelem]

What console people play on shouldn't matter to you or others.Actually it should matter to me because the PS2 is the whole reason this game stays stuck in the past. Drop your antiquated hardware and get a modern device to play on. If you can't afford it, then stop playing. By your logic I should ask for a port for FFXI on Game Boy, after all it's cheaper, and what console I play on shouldn't matter to others. Most people are happy to switch to more modern hardware. Why should the majority of players suffer because a couple people want to cling to their PS2s?

Sony is about to stop selling the PS2 in the remaining places where it still sells it. It's the beginning of the end for the PS2 and you simply have to accept that. You can get a net/ultrabook that will run the game for as much as that ps2 cost when it was new.

[Vandheer]

Actually it should matter to me because the PS2 is the whole reason this game stays stuck in the past. Drop your antiquated hardware and get a modern device to play on.

FFXI is not "stuck" in the past because of the PS2. SE is simply not interested in giving FFXI an overhaul. This is why they released 14. After the failure (or road bump, opinions may differ) of 14 they pulled the majority of the team from FFXI over to 14 further showing they do not have any intension of upgrading the game out of its "stuck" position.


By your logic I should ask for a port for FFXI on Game Boy, after all it's cheaper, and what console I play on shouldn't matter to others.

I'm sorry for your misinterpretation of what I meant. Allow me to make myself only more clear so you can understand what I mean. What console another player plays on that is provided by the manufacturer as a console to play through should not affect other players game experience or provide reason to belittle users of whichever console the user chooses to play through.


Most people are happy to switch to more modern hardware. Why should the majority of players suffer because a couple people want to cling to their PS2s?

Yes some people are "suffering" because of the quality of FFXI as of late. This is because SE has shifted their focus from FFXI, not because of the "limitations" of the PS2. If SE was serious about an overhaul to FFXI yes they would likely drop the PS2 version but they would also likely add a PS3 version of the overhauled FFXI. In doing so this would be less of a hassle for users of the PS2 version because as I previously stated, the majority of the PS2 version users play through their PS3 which is not "antiquated hardware".


Sony is about to stop selling the PS2 in the remaining places where it still sells it. It's the beginning of the end for the PS2 and you simply have to accept that.

Great, all the more reason for SE to get with the times and release a PS3 version of the game. Sadly this will not happen because like I said there will be no overhaul of FFXI not because of the PS2s "limitations" but because SE has shifted their interests to 14 instead.

[Eric]

Nobody's asking for a complete overhaul of the game, but there are some very important things (like inventory space) that are being severely limited by the PS2. SE themselves have even said that our active inventory can't be larger than 80 items because the PS2 is incapable of displaying any more than that.

If they dropped PS2 support they would be able to fix that problem easily. They can't drop PS2 support because there are people like you trying to drag the rest of the community down.

[Sotek]

They can easily work around inventory being capped at 80, they just choose not to and to instead make matters worse by adding situational gear upon situational gear. Zones was another popular "PS2 limitations" issue, look at SoA. Then there's job abilities/spells, oh wait they're working on fixing that as well.

PS2 isn't getting dropped. Ever. Get over it already.

Honestly, does anyone really think things would improve if they dropped PS2 and pissed off the majority of their native playerbase? These are developers who can't even increase the damn range on Libra (something I must have been asking for for two years now?), PS2 is not the issue here. Even if PS2 support didn't exist anymore, if XBox360 support didn't and if everyone on the planet was using supercomputers from the year 3079, SE is still SE.

If you want improvements, instead of asking for PS2 to be dropped start asking for SE to sell XI to literally anyone, you'll have far more luck with that.

[Alhanelem]

FFXI is not "stuck" in the past because of the PS2. SE is simply not interested in giving FFXI an overhaul. This is why they released 14. After the failure (or road bump, opinions may differ) of 14 they pulled the majority of the team from FFXI over to 14 further showing they do not have any intension of upgrading the game out of its "stuck" position. actually, that's false, they did not pull XI's team onto XIV. The teams are completely seperate.

Stop citing XIV as the reason the game is in it's current state, because it's not. If XIV was the real cause, ARR would already be out and the plug would have been pulled on XI, not a whole new expansion being made.

When Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate comes out here, the plug will be pulled on the original game's online servers. If any of the other follow-up MMOs out there were actually successful, the same thing most likely would have happened to their originals.


Honestly, does anyone really think things would improve if they dropped PS2 and pissed off the majority of their native playerbase?Yes. For Christ sake, most people in japan have effing PHONES that could run the game better than the PS2. SE should just do a android/iphone port of t he game. Even that would remove PS2 limitations and probably make them a shit ton of money since EVERYBODY in japan has a cellphone.

The MAKER of the PS2 is about to drop all support for it. It only makes sense for developers to follow suit.

[Miiyo]

So NA only gets PC on digital download? What happened to SE repeatedly going "this is a boxed expansion!" Where the heck is our BOX?

Meanwhile, Japan gets a boxed Vana'diel Collection with bonuses that have yet to be announced for players outside of Japan...can't say I'm surprised. Insert speech about how Japan always gets the cool stuff here.

http://store.jp.square-enix.com/detail/SE-G0044?mmcd=official_ff11_vc4

Far more JP players on FFXI than NA. Why wouldn't they cater to their biggest market?

[Miiyo]

If you want improvements, instead of asking for PS2 to be dropped start asking for SE to sell XI to literally anyone, you'll have far more luck with that.

If you want improvements, updated graphics, fresh content and plentiful content, go to FFXIV. Everything people complain about with this game, they're doing with that game. Don't understand why that's so hard to comprehend. Yes... the name of the game, the races, and the world is different. It's still an mmo, still has mobs, quests, and nms.

[FrankReynolds]

If you want improvements, updated graphics, fresh content and plentiful content, go to FFXIV.

Yeah, why take a ticket to ride on the Titanic when you could be on the space shuttle Challenger right? No thanks. I'll take my slow icy death.

[Clou777]

all this and i bet cait sith and atomos STILL wont be released for summoner before this expansion comes out...

[Clou777]

will the release of the new jobs be given relic and empyrean armour? if so will new NMs be added to abyssea?

[Demon6324236]

will the release of the new jobs be given relic and empyrean armour? if so will new NMs be added to abyssea?Yes, and unknown.

[Alhanelem]

I doubt they'd add new NMs, just add the drops to the existing ones.

[Camiie]

There's always Isgebind!

[Teraniku]

will the release of the new jobs be given relic and empyrean armour? if so will new NMs be added to abyssea?

Not Exactly. From what I understood, they would be getting equivalent gear to Relic and Empyrean for the new jobs, but you may not acquire it in the same way.

[Alhanelem]

that's just a fancy way to say the quests wont be the same. of course they won't be the same, they're different for every job. ToAU jobs had to buy some of theirs. You're still going to call it AF, relic armor, and empyrean armor and they're still going to be the same levels.

The only catch is they might not make it all available right away, the past new jobs had to wait 1 patch after release before artifact was available, and wait some time after that for the relic IIRC.

[Teraniku]

that's just a fancy way to say the quests wont be the same. of course they won't be the same, they're different for every job. ToAU jobs had to buy some of theirs. You're still going to call it AF, relic armor, and empyrean armor and they're still going to be the same levels.

The only catch is they might not make it all available right away, the past new jobs had to wait 1 patch after release before artifact was available, and wait some time after that for the relic IIRC.

Where did I mention AF gear in my post? Oh wait I didn't. The Equivalent Relic and Empyrean gear may be tied to the new areas and not acquired via Dynamis and Abyssea.

[Kincard]

That would be incredibly unlikely, TOAU jobs told us they apparently are willing to wait 2 years to release relic armor moreso than just create a totally different system that drops analogous JSE items purely for the 2-3 jobs that expansion adds.

[Alhanelem]

Where did I mention AF gear in my post? Oh wait I didn't. The Equivalent Relic and Empyrean gear may be tied to the new areas and not acquired via Dynamis and Abyssea.
Nope, it will be, otherwise it wouldn't be called that.

The exception here, if any, will be the weapons, as they will most likely not add new r/m/e weapons or add new jobs to them given their history of not doing so, so there will probably be a brand new set of superweapons at some point.

[Ash]

ppl like eric and analhelm seem to forget expansion is coming for ps2 in japan so why not give Na ppl a digital download and make more money like any intelligent compagny? we will all still be stuck with ps2 limitation anyway so why all the hate for the few ppl still playing on ps2 around here? Should go witchhunting on the jp boards if you want my 2 cents...

[FrankReynolds]

ppl like eric and analhelm seem to forget expansion is coming for ps2 in japan so why not give Na ppl a digital download and make more money like any intelligent compagny? we will all still be stuck with ps2 limitation anyway so why all the hate for the few ppl still playing on ps2 around here? Should go witchhunting on the jp boards if you want my 2 cents...

Because. Now kindly pull your horse and buggy off the freeways pal. People are trying to drive here.

[Ash]

Because. Now kindly pull your horse and buggy off the freeways pal. People are trying to drive here.

Yeah im sure the ps2 release of adoulin in japan won t slow us down...I mean its like ppl don t wanna believe s-e doesn t give a crap about their non jp playerbase, even if all NA player switch to pc nothing will change.

[Arbalest]

FFXI hasn't had an overhaul to bring it moreso into the present times because of the PS2, limitations and all.

As much as people don't like to believe it, the limitations of PS2 hardware have indeed prevented SE from doing anything inventive or awesome with FFXI.

[Kincard]

FFXI hasn't had an overhaul to bring it moreso into the present times because of the PS2, limitations and all.

As much as people don't like to believe it, the limitations of PS2 hardware have indeed prevented SE from doing anything inventive or awesome with FFXI.

There's also the fact that it's a lot of development time for a ten-year old game that will go completely unrewarded, so even if PS2 was magically dropped, it's likely nothing special would happen. I don't understand why people think they would do something like that. They would lose a bunch of PS2 suscribers in Japan and PC/XBox players would not really get anything special.

If they arn't willing to release a US PS2 SoA because it wouldn't be profitable enough (Not enough buyers to justify the cost of boxes/pressing discs etc, or maybe even bothering with the costs of translating/coding PS2 version EN), what makes any of you think they're going to spend loads of money to renew the game for PC/XBox if they ever dropped PS2 support?

[Aarahs]

It's been said that the new jobs will get a mythic weapon. Relic will be a 'no'. I don't remember what SE said about Empys.

[FrankReynolds]

What makes any of you think they're going to spend loads of money to renew the game for PC/XBox if they ever dropped PS2 support?

Well, being as it's SE we're talking about... nothing.

If it was another game company, I would say that they could update to a more modern graphics engine / UI and continue to bring in new customers / profits almost indefinitely. Just because this game isn't attracting the sort of net traffic that the Olympics does, doesn't mean that it isn't making them a bunch of money. They could have far more easily upgraded this game than created a new one and made great profits. I'm not just talking about FFXIV either.

[Rustic]

Well, being as it's SE we're talking about... nothing.

If it was another game company, I would say that they could update to a more modern graphics engine / UI and continue to bring in new customers / profits almost indefinitely. Just because this game isn't attracting the sort of net traffic that the Olympics does, doesn't mean that it isn't making them a bunch of money. They could have far more easily upgraded this game than created a new one and made great profits. I'm not just talking about FFXIV either.

Let's put it this way. Removing PS2 from the equation alone would allow for a more robust data transfer system for patching (since it's no longer limited to PS2 speeds) and for graphic .DAT files that take into account said higher load speeds and superior rendering capacity of Xbox/PC systems.

Heck, they already could produce a visually prettier version of FFXI simply by giving non-PS2 DL's more complex graphics files. What we see is client-based, after all. If they made a HQ *ahem* version of FFXI's graphics and textures, it would have no effect whatsoever on the PS2 version's gameplay whatsoever.

It simply would stop looking like a previous generation game on the screen.

[Demon6324236]

The exception here, if any, will be the weapons, as they will most likely not add new r/m/e weapons or add new jobs to them given their history of not doing so, so there will probably be a brand new set of superweapons at some point.We don't know about new types of super weapons, however, the new jobs will have their own Mythic weapons, but no access to Relic/Emp weapons. The reason is because when SE creates weapons and gear its made for the jobs in question, however for them to add new jobs to old weapons, they would have to re-balance them, this is the reason for not getting Relics with BLU, COR, PUP, DNC, or SCH.

[Camiie]

We don't know about new types of super weapons, however, the new jobs will have their own Mythic weapons, but no access to Relic/Emp weapons. The reason is because when SE creates weapons and gear its made for the jobs in question, however for them to add new jobs to old weapons, they would have to re-balance them, this is the reason for not getting Relics with BLU, COR, PUP, DNC, or SCH.

Yeah because DNC with Mandau would become the top DD for real. And SCH with Claustrum? Well, that speaks for itself, doesn't it?

[Demon6324236]

Not once did I say thats my thoughts on it, but that doesn't change the fact SE sees it that way, and they are the ones in control.

[Camiie]

Not once did I say thats my thoughts on it, but that doesn't change the fact SE sees it that way, and they are the ones in control.

SE was who I was aiming at, but you know how we elvaans are with our poor accuracy.

[Sotek]

Ignoring the fact that their reasoning for not putting ToAU/WotG jobs on Relics is so very flawed (not helped by the fact that TotM was a thing), their reasoning for not putting GEO/RNF on Relics/Empyreans is just absolutely moronic.

These are two jobs that are still in development. If putting RNF on Ragnarok/Caladbolg would overpower the job it shouldn't even take the town retard to long to figure out what they should do, so much so that I'm not even going to explain it, it should be that damn obvious to everybody. You know why they're not putting them on Relic/Empyreans? Because that would require extra work. Nothing more, nothing less. The alternative is that they're just that dense, but I prefer to think of the development team as chronically lazy rather than mentally retarded, though since they're putting extra work into a new expansion they certainly aren't lazy.

[FrankReynolds]

Ignoring the fact that their reasoning for not putting ToAU/WotG jobs on Relics is so very flawed (not helped by the fact that TotM was a thing), their reasoning for not putting GEO/RNF on Relics/Empyreans is just absolutely moronic.

These are two jobs that are still in development. If putting RNF on Ragnarok/Caladbolg would overpower the job it shouldn't even take the town retard to long to figure out what they should do, so much so that I'm not even going to explain it, it should be that damn obvious to everybody. You know why they're not putting them on Relic/Empyreans? Because that would require extra work. Nothing more, nothing less. The alternative is that they're just that dense, but I prefer to think of the development team as chronically lazy rather than mentally retarded, though since they're putting extra work into a new expansion they certainly aren't lazy.


I said the same thing when they denied mandau to DNC. "Why the fuck didn't you just design the job correctly in the first place???"

[huri]

if the expansion will be only digital outside of japan, why on the website it saying on the bottom PC DVD-ROM?

[Sotek]

I said the same thing when they denied mandau to DNC. "Why the fuck didn't you just design the job correctly in the first place???"

My favorite part was when they added this thing called Trials of the Magian in order to adjust the weapons for a Lv.99 cap, and then turned around and said "We can't put these jobs on Relics without adjusting the weapons".

[FrankReynolds]

My favorite part was when they added this thing called Trials of the Magian in order to adjust the weapons for a Lv.99 cap, and then turned around and said "We can't put these jobs on Relics without adjusting the weapons".

No crap right? As if either of these jobs are in any danger of stealing a top DD slot anyways...